Peacock



(Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. R. B. SHE'L'DON 8v J. V. PBAOOCK.

Fertilizer Distributer.

No. 234,079. Patented Nov. 2,1880.

e E l l w @.1 l o E /l 'l' f l i, Il.

N. PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGHAFHEE, WASHINGTON. D C.

2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

R. B. SHELDON 8v J. V. PEACOGK. Fertilizer Distributeur.

Patented Nov. 2, 1880.

(Model- N. PETERS. PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON` D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT RICHARD B. SHELDON AND JOSEPH V. PEAOOOK, OF SHORTSVILLE, N. Y.

FERTILIZER-DISTRIBUTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 234,079, dated November 2, 1880. Application filed July 23, 1880. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, RICHARD B. SHELnoN and JOSEPH V. PnAcocK, of Shortsville, in

the county of Ontario and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Fertilizer-Distributers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to those devices for feeding phosphate, guano, and other fertilizers in which a horizontally-revolving ringer band causes the material to pass down through an opening in a fixed plate, and particularly to modications of, and improvements in, the class of feeders represented in our patents numbered 226,121 and 227,998.

We now construct our improved feeder in three essential partsa fixed horizontal plate, on which the mass of material rests and is sustained, and which has in one side an opening for its discharge, a ring or annular band revolving in a horizontal plane above the plate to urge the material toward the dischargeopening, and a second fixed plate located in the center above the bottom plate and covering the discharge-opening thereinto prevent the material from escaping except as it is carried around beneath the covering-plate. The opening in the bottom plate is of special form, to secure a gradual delivery of the material and prevent its adhesion to the parts. The outside ring may be made with or without an inside arm to travel over the bottom plate and assist in urging the material to the deliveryopening. The center plate has its edge depressed or curled down, so as to give a free clearance to the material under the plate after it has passed the edge, and also has a lug or stud on the und'cr side, to cause the material to pass through the discharge-opening and to keep the inner surface of the ring clear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a top-plan view of our improved feeder; Fig. 2, a perspective view of the same, partially broken away to illustrate the construction Inore clearly; Fig. 3, a vertical central section on the line .fr so of Fig. l; Fig. 4, a view illustrating the action of the cutoff 5 Fig. 5, a perspective view of the inner fixed plate, showing its under side.

A represents a horizontal circular bed or plate, provided with arms a, by which it may be attached to the supply-hopper, and formed with a raised central portion, b, of circular form, and concentric with the outer edge of the bed or plate, as shown, said raised portion being formed with an upright central stud, c.

B represents an annular band or case resting upon the bed or plate A, and formed or provided with a depending portion closely surrounding the bed or plate A, said depending portion being designed to prevent the shifting of the case or ring upon the bed or plate without preventing or interfering with its rotation thereon.

Upon the outside of the ring or case B, and at its lower side, there is formed an annular bevel gear-ring, d, which meshes with and receives a rotary motion from a bevel-pinion, C, located beneath it, as shown.

In order that the ring or case B may not be lifted from its seat on the bed or plate we provide one or more arms or fingers, e, curved to conform to the outer surface ot' thering or case, bolting the same to the frame or to the hopper in such position that its free end shall extend over the upper face of the projecting gearring d. In practice it is preferred to locate the finger c directly above the pinion O, where the tendency of the ring to rise is greatest.

The bed or plate A and ring or case B, being thus arranged and combined, form together a cup to receive the material to be fed, while within the cup an annular passage, f,is formed by the raised central portion, b, of the bed or plate. The bed or plate A is cutaway at one side, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, forming a delivery-opening, D, through which the material is discharged from the cup. In order that such discharge may not take place by the fall of the material directly through said opening, an inner covering-plate, E, is secured upon the central stud, c, and extends outward over the discharge-opening to the inner wall or face of the ring D, said plate being made to cover from one-third to one-half, or thereabout, of the annular passage or channel f.

The phosphate or other material being supplied to the feed-cup enters the channel or passage f, and is carried, by the rotation of the ring B, forward and under the plate E and -discharged through the openingf'the feeding or carrying action of the ring beingaugmented,

IOO

if desired, by one or more inwardly-projecting studs or fingers, g, traveling close to the fixed plate or bottom A, and serving not only to carry the material forward, but also to loosen and separate the same and to scrape oft' any portion which may adhere to the face of the channel or passage f.

The ring or case B, which constitutes, essentially, the feeding or discharging mechanism, may be made with vertical walls; but better results are secured by making said ring or case slightly larger at the top than at the bottom, the material being more efficiently carA ried when the ring is so made.

In order that the material may not be dc- Ivered in lumps or large pieces the bottoni of the channel or passagef is carried forward in the form otl a tapering lip, l1, under the plate E, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, so that instead of falling in a mass over the edge, the material begins to fall when it reaches the base of the lip and liows in a continuous stream gradually over the edge in traveling to the point.

To prevent the material from becoming.,lr compressed in the space beneath the plate or cover E and clogging the opening, theforward edge of said plate is bent or curled slightly down- Ward, forming a lip, i, beneath which said niaterial must pass in entering the space. The lip being lower than the top ofthe space beneath the plate E, it will be seen that the material is freed as it passes under the lip, and that it will not touch the top of the space or the under face ot' the plate, and that it will consequently iiow freely and evenly over the edge of the lip h.

The discharge-opening D, being formed not only through the bottom of the channel or passagef, but also through the side ofthe raised portion a, is of sutiicient size to aiford a perfectly free delivery of the material; but, owing to the pasty or gumm y consistency of such materials, more or less ot' the phosphate ot' guano is liable to adhere to the face ofthe ring and be carried thereby across the discharge opening.

To prevent the material from being carried past the opening I), and to keep the ring scraped clean, the plate E is furnished on its under side with a lug,j. which completely fills the channel or passage f when the feedin g-tin gers care omitted, or, when said lingers are employed, reaches nearly to the bottom ot' the channel, leaving only sufficient room for the passage of said tingers under it. Tile front face of the lug j projects forward a short distance over the dischargeopening slightly in advance of the back edge thereof, as shown in Fig. 4, in

ordel that any material which may be removed by it from the ring B or its feeding finger or i fingers may fall freely down through the open` ing without meeting with any obstructions.

It will be observed by reference to Fig. 5, and also to the dotted lines of Fig. 1, that the face ot the lugj is not radial to the center ot' the cup, but that its outer edge stands somewhat in advance of the inner edge, thereby producing a sharp cutting or scraping lip or edge, lr, against which the ring or band B is drawn bythe pinion C, and by which said ring is constantly scraped clean. The upright rear face of the opening D is of like form, having a sharp edge or point, l, to scrape that portion ofthe ring which encircles the plate A. The upright edge of the opening through hub b, the edges of the lug jand plate A, and the edges of the finger q are also sharp and well defined, so that the finger in passing between the lug and plate effects a clean and perfect division or cutting of the phosphate or other material which may chance to be before it, instead ot' compacting the same.

The depression of the forward edge of plate E, besides giving clearance to the phosphate or other material beneath it, serves also to loosen that above it. The jarring of the machine tends to pack the phosphate; but in passing over the depressed edge it is kept in a pulverized condition to fall into the channel.

The plate E is provided with a circular opening to lit over stud c, said opening having a radial extension to permit the plate to pass below a projecting lug or pin on the stud, beneath which the plate is locked by being turned a short distance horizontally.

The operation of the device will be readily understood. A series of the distribnters are placed beneath the supply-hopper in proper position, and receive motion from a common shaft, the arrangement of the devices in relation to the grain-drill feeders being the same, essentially, as in other devices of this class. The fertilizng material, falling into the channel or passage f, is carried, by the ring or band B, beneath the plate E and caused to ow evenly and gradually over the edge of lip h, through the opening D, any portion thereof adhering to the ring being removed by the lug j, as before stated.

It will be observed that in the present device the ring or band B has no inwardly-extending tlange or bottom, but that said hottom is formed solely by the fixed plate A. This we find important, for the reason that in practice the material was found to lodge and become rmly compacted upon and adhere to such inwardly-extending ange, while in the present device no such diiicultyis experienced.

It will likewise be noticed that the material in being discharged is not caused to change its direction to en ter the delivery-opening, but enters the same in traveling directly forward and without the aid of deeotors or Scrapers of any kind. Consequently the flow or discharge is much more certain and regular, and the material is delivered in better condition than it otherwise could be.

It is apparent that, instead of the xed plate E,arotatingplate ordisk may be used,mounted in substantially the same manner as in our former Patent, N o. 227,998, before mentioned. 1n such case the disk or plate should be con- IOO IIO

cave on its under face and mounted upon a stud located eccentrically Within the cup, and the lug j should be formed upon the plate A.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- 1. In a fertilizer-distributer, the combination of a fixed bed-plate adapted and arranged to sustain the mass of material and provided with an outlet-opening, a xed plate located above the outlet-opening, and a vertical ring or cylinder revolving upon or around the base-plate, substantially as described and shown, Whereby the vertical surface of the cylinder is caused to advance the material over the fixed plate to the point of discharge.

2. In combination with the top plate and rotary ring, the base-plate having the nger or extension' h at the discharge-opening, to cause a uniform and gradual delivery.

3. In combination With the annular band or ring, the baseplate having the feed-opening and the point or edge h, to remove adhering material from the ring.

4. In a fertilizer-feeder, the combination of a base-plate having an outlet-opening, means, substantially such as described, for advancing the material over the base-plate to the outlet, and a xed upper guard or cut-off plate, the

forward edge, i, of which is depressed to give a clearance to the material. 3o

5. In a fertilizer-feeder, the combination of the eXternally-iianged cylinder and the arm or finger arranged to hold the same in place.

6. In a fertilizer-feeder having a fixed base portion, by which the material is sustained and through which it is discharged, a verticallyrotary cylinder' surrounding the same and arranged to advance the material over the fixed base wholly or mainly by means of its vertical surface acting against the material, as described and shown.

7. The fixed base-plate havingthe dischargeopening in one side and the raised hub at the center, in combination with the vertical ring and the central top plate locked fast upon the hub.

8. The cut-off plate having the sharp edge k to clean the ring, substantially as shown.

9. The combination of the bottom plate, A, ring` B, and cut-Off plate E, having the lug j 5o on its under side.

RICHARD B. SHELDON. JOSEPH V. PEAGOGK.

Witnesses z HENRY O. KLINCK, OLIVER S. Trrns. 

